I Will Possess Your Heart
by lilyx93
Summary: Dating Beck Oliver was supposed to be a PR stunt. So what happens when Jade actually starts to fall for him? AU!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, hello! This is my very first fanfic and it's completely AU, eep. I know Robbie and Andre aren't in this chapter but they'll appear in the next. Please tell me what you think so I know whether or not to continue! Thanks!**

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For the record, Jade West _hates_ Beck Oliver.

She dislikes the way his lips press against hers harshly in dark corners of rooms when no one is watching. She hates the way his fingers trail up the back of her shirt during inappropriate times, his hot breath tickling against her ears as he whispers it's time to go.

They meet in his trailer every two days in between scenes, locking the door for twenty short minutes. It doesn't take long for their limbs to become tangled on the plush velvet couch. Jade hates that she's become involved in this. But she tells herself she's only eighteen and doesn't know any better.

Deep down, she does.

Beck likes to "talk" after but Jade likes to scoot. He protests as she reaches for her shirt, tracing the soft padding of her bra.

"Why are you in a rush?"

Jade rolls her eyes and buttons every other button on her shirt. "I have to help Cat rehearse."

Beck falls back on the couch and eyes Jade intently while she runs her fingers through her tangled and sweaty hair. "Why?"

"Because," Jade grumbles. "If I don't help her with her lines, we'll be filming all night." She looks at Beck and then shivers slightly. "I'll see you later."

Jade doesn't wait for Beck to respond. She sneaks out of his trailer and squints as the bright California sun hits her eyes. Mousy PA's avoid direct eye contact while they whiz by. All except Sinjin Van Cleef. Jade stops short and glares.

"Sikowitz has been looking for you," he says ominously.

"So?"

"So?" Sinjin parrots in disbelief. "Sikowitz has been looking for you."

"Yeah, I got that the first time," Jade says in irritation. She peers past Sinjin to see her precious co-star Cat Valentine skipping towards her joyfully. "What does Sikowitz want?"

Sinjin turns his palms upwards and fumbles with the walkie-talkie. "I'm merely the messenger."

"Okay, whatever," Jade says, dismissing Sinjin with a wave of her hand. "Bye."

Cat nearly crashes into Jade from excitement. She grabs her wrist to steady herself and tugs at it repeatedly to get Jade's attention. "Hi!"

"Hi," Jade sort of smiles as she pulls her wrist away from Cat's strong grip in one swift motion. "Where do you want to rehearse?"

"I don't know," Cat says with wide eyes. She clutches her script and stares at the pretty green highlights in Jade's hair.

Jade notices Cat's already distracted and grabs her hand. Cat's only sixteen and the youngest cast member of _Hollywood Arts_. Jade hates being on a teen soap opera but it pays the bills and she can't complain _that_ much. The majority of her co-stars are tolerable, save for Beck, and they get along for the most part. Jade doesn't like to hang out with them too much because they irritate her easily. She feels bad for Cat because she's just a kid who was basically forced into acting to help pay for her crazy brother's medical bills. Her mom is semi-decent but Cat's dad is clearly only in it for the money. Neither of them work and Jade's constantly pushing for them to let Cat be a teenager during the show's hiatus.

Cat's a tiny, shy redhead who likes to please everyone. She's childish and innocent, which makes Jade want to protect her from everything and everyone. She's not too good dealing with the attention from the public and happily stays quiet during group interviews. Her dad's constantly yelling at her to speak up but Cat pays him no attention. She likes being in the background and holding Jade's hand while they participate in redundant interviews about life on set.

"How about your trailer?" Jade suggests when Cat just stands there giggling into her little hands.

"Kay, kay!"

Cat's trailer looks like it belongs to a five-year-old. There's stuffed animals strewn all over the couch and coloring books littered on the tiny table in the corner. But it's all very Cat like so Jade can't get too mad at her for it. It's cute.

Jade sits down next to Cat and hands her a highlighter. "Highlight all of your parts."

Cat sighs and skims through the script. "I don't want to shoot this scene."

"Why?"

"Cause," Cat whispers sadly. "I have to say bad words to you!"

Jade bites back a laugh and rubs Cat's back in reassurance. "You're just acting, Cat. I won't take offense to it."

"But, but." Cat's bottom lip quivers. "I have to tell you I hate you!"

"Your character does," Jade corrects softly. "You'll be okay, baby girl."

Cat relaxes and smiles shyly at Jade. It's Jade's special nickname for her and it makes her feel safe and protected. "Kay. Wanna start at the part where Beck leaves?"

Jade starts to say her lines, but is rudely interrupted when Cat's trailer door swings open, revealing Tori Vega. Jade has a love/hate relationship with Tori. They're both eighteen and are constantly being pitted against one another by the media. She doesn't think Tori's all that bad; she's just too nice and perfect for her liking.

"Hi, Tori!" Just like that, Cat's distracted again. She drops her scripts and runs over to give Tori a tight hug.

Tori ruffles Cat's red-velvet hair and guides her back to the couch. "Jade, Sikowitz wants to see you."

"I'm busy," Jade rolls her eyes. "I have to help Cat rehearse."

"I can do that," Tori says sweetly, stealing Jade's script. "You should go see him now, Jade," she urges in a motherly tone. "Don't make him mad again."

Jade sighs dramatically and stands up. "Make sure she knows her lines," she says to Tori in a threatening tone. "I don't want to shoot all night."

Tori shoots her a thumbs up before turning to Cat. "Ready, Kit-Cat?"

Jade throws the door open and slams it shut behind her. She trusts Tori enough to take care of Cat but sometimes, she gets jealous. Tori's calm and patient and so motherly. Jade's patience run thin and Cat gets the brunt of her annoyance on the rare occasion.

She finds Sinjin idiotically riding on a golfcart. She flags him down and gets in the back wordlessly.

"Where to, milady?"

"No," she barks at him rudely. "Take me to see Sikowitz and don't speak to me like that ever again."

Sinjin mutters something and honestly, she's not in the mood to argue.

* * *

Erwin Sikowitz, the creator of _Hollywood Arts_, is certifiably insane. He sips on coconuts all day long and claims to receive "visions." Which is probably why in this episode, Jade's character Lucy makes a film about clowns who eat toenails. Despite his lunacy, Sikowitz is a pretty famous director in Hollywood. He created the show based on his experience teaching at a creative arts high school back in the 80's.

"Ah, if it isn't my little cash cow!" Sikowitz greets Jade with a toothy smile when she enters the room.

Jade plops down on the wicker chair in his eccentric office. "Okay, yeah. You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," Sikowitz confirms loudly. "I'm just waiting for Beck and we can chat!"

"Why is Beck involved in this?"

Sikowitz chuckles. "Oh, my naïve girl. Just wait and see."

Beck arrives six minutes later and winks at Jade coolly. "Long time no see."

Jade flips him off and crosses her arms in annoyance. "He's here."

"I see!" Sikowitz booms. "Now, you're probably wondered why I've sent Sinjin to corral you into my office."

"Just get to the point!" Jade snaps at her boss.

"Touchy, touchy," Sikowitz whispers. Beck nods in agreement. "You two are my stars," he begins matter-of-factly. Jade smirks. Hah, take that, Vega.

"And?" Beck prods, playing with the gold ring on his index finger.

"Do you two know what a PR stunt is?"

Jade and Beck immediately glare at one another. "No."

"You don't even know what I was going to ask!" Sikowitz whines, reaching under his desk for his prized coconut.

"I think I know where this is going," Beck says calmly.

"I think I know where this is going," Jade imitates Beck in a deep voice.

"I need you two to date," Sikowitz finally says pleadingly. "You're the couple everyone loves! Your shippers will love it."

Jade shakes her head and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I'm not pretending to date him! Just because I tolerate his sloppy kisses onscreen doesn't mean I'm going to tolerate them off."

Beck goes to say something but Jade cuts him off. "No, Sikowitz, no. This is ridiculous! I'm not doing it."

"She's a gank," Beck cuts in once Jade is done with her mini tirade. "Plus I'm already sort of seeing someone."

Jade scoffs because she knows it's a lie.

"Well too bad," Sikowitz sings in delight. "It will only be for a couple months! Our ratings are dipping since they've remade _I Married my Mom_."

"So what does Jade and I dating have to do with any of it?"

"Ratings will go up!" Sikowitz explained in between sips of coconut juice. "Fans go crazy when co-stars date."

"Why can't Vega do this?" Jade hisses. She can't even look at Beck. She knew he was probably enjoying this.

"Because," Sikowitz says childishly. "The network promised me a two hour special in Hawaii if you two date and successfully bring up the ratings."

"You can tell the network I'd rather slam my tongue in a car door than date Beck Oliver."

"I have a car," Beck says with a smirk.

Jade glares at him. "Bite me."

"Gladly."

"See!" Sikowitz beams. "This is great-so much sexual tension! Now your first public outing is next week. Sinjin is going to start tweeting pictures of you two looking all cozy tomorrow. Fun, right?"

"NO!"

"Well you two better get back to set," Sikowitz says dismissively. He glances at his watch and sighs. "I only have Cat for two more hours and you know how that girl is with her lines."

The last thing Jade wants to do is shoot a scene with Cat and Beck. Cat will no doubt flub her lines and giggle during the serious scenes because she feels too uncomfortable. Beck always indulges Cat and purposely makes her mess up, leaving Jade to play the bad cop and scold Cat until she cries.

"I hate this as much as you do," Beck says to Jade once they get outside.

"I don't want to talk to you."

Beck grabs Jade by the arm and pulls her back. "Can you not be a gank for one minute?"

"This is ridiculous," Jade whispers. She's at her wits end because she knows no matter how much she protests things won't change. She has to pretend to date Beck Oliver. The thought makes her cringe. "That man is insane."

"It's only for a few months," Beck whispers softly.

For a minute, Jade just stares at Beck, alarmed at how nice he's being. She's seen him at all the meet and greets and how kind and patient he is with the crazy fan girls and their mothers. She's seen how good he is with Cat, making sure she's on top of everything and protecting her from all the insane paparazzi trying to get a photo of her. But Beck is different with her. He's curt and cocky and not at all civil.

"Can we talk about this tomorrow?" Jade says in exasperation. She's not used to the soft tone of Beck's voice.

"Whatever," Beck snaps. "We already screw around in private. What's the difference if we do it in public?"

Jade takes a deep breath and glares at Beck harshly. "Oh, how romantic! Yes, let's go have sex in the middle of Hollywood!"

"That's not what I meant," Beck says more sincerely. "Jade."

"Stop," Jade says forcefully, taking a step back from Beck. "This ends then. If you want to go through with this idiotic idea, then fine. Fine, I'll do it. But our little "thing" is over."

Beck scoffs and throws his hands up in the air. "Fine. I'm sure I can find someone else to fulfill my needs."

"I'm sure you can," Jade snaps angrily. "Are we done?"

"Sure," Beck snaps back. His eyes travel to Cat, who's waving to them frantically from behind Jade. "Cat's here."

"Hiiii," Cat drawls out, stopping short to steady herself. She looks between Beck and Jade curiously. "Are you guys ready? I know all of my lines!"

"That's great, Cat," Beck says half-heartedly, reaching down to pat the little redhead on the back. Cat beams.

"Yeah, great," Jade repeats just as forced. Her eyes are still locked on Beck's.

Cat notices the tension and twiddles her thumbs. "Did I miss something?"

"No," Jade shakes her head, grabbing Cat's hand. "We're ready to shoot."

"Kay, kay!" Cat says excitedly. She squeezes Jade's hand and starts to pull her along. "Are you coming, Beck?"

Beck finally tears his gaze away from Jade's and smiles. "I'm coming, kiddo."


	2. Turning Tables

**Thank you all SO much for your reviews! I wasn't expecting that many so really, thank you! I'm glad you all like it so far! :)**

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Jade wonders if Sikowitz is out to get her. It's six a.m. on a Saturday and he decides to schedule a new cast photo shoot for their upcoming TV Guide cover. God forbid they use a recent promotional photo from a shoot they did a few weeks ago. Then again, Jade looks like a bloated mess so she's internally grateful they're not going to show that to the world. However, that means she has to talk to yappy reporters about what her relationship with Beck is like off screen and how much they get along. She rolls her eyes at the thought of complimenting Beck all day.

The sun is barely rising over Venice Beach and Jade's ready to throw herself out of the stuffy van that picked her up. She's sandwiched in between Andre, who's snoring with his mouth wide open, and Cat, who's wide awake and clad in her disgustingly bright ice cream cone pajamas. She's mumbling incoherently to her stupid stuffed purple giraffe Mr. Purple. She's such a child that it kills Jade sometimes.

Beck turns around in his seat in front and grins. "Look, Jade. We're at your favorite place."

"Don't talk to me," Jade demands, narrowing her eyes so Beck gets the point.

"I can't believe you hate the beach," Tori shakes her head from the way back of the van. "Did you almost drown when you were a kid?"

Jade's had an issue with the beach ever since the third grade. She was happily climbing onto her black boogie board when out of nowhere, an over friendly dolphin swam right up to her and nudged her butt with its long nose and then proceeded to squeak and moan and make a bunch of other hideous noises. It's ridiculous to some people, but it's traumatizing to Jade. Therefore, she avoids beaches like the plague.

"I love the beach!" Cat chirps happily, pressing her cheek against the tinted window to gaze at the empty beach dreamily. "I like to pretend I'm Ariel sometimes when I swim in the ocean."

"Aw," Tori grins at Cat and ruffles her hair affectionately.

Jade rolls her eyes and sinks down in her chair. She elbows Andre in the ribs to let him know it's time to wake up and wipe the drool off his chin. He immediately stirs and nearly whacks Jade in the face as his arms wave frantically in fright.

"I'll be your Prince Eric," Robbie says shyly, popping his head in between Jade and Cat. Cat giggles and blushes into Mr. Purple and Jade palms Robbie's nerdy face and pushes him back in place. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You're too close," Jade says simply.

Robbie's a geek with curly black hair and an odd fascination for ventriloquism. He's madly in love with Cat, which everyone but Cat, of course, is painfully aware of. While Tori thinks they'd make an "adorkable" (gag) couple, Jade's against it because Robbie's nineteen and can't even fend for himself. How would he protect Cat if he can barely protect himself? A painful squeak emits from Robbie while he rubs his eyes and adjusts his horribly thick black glasses.

The van comes to a halt at the main entrance of the beach. Tents are already set up and Jade groans audibly at the long day they're about to experience. Beck gets out first and slides the van door open. Andre motions for Tori to get out first but that makes no sense to Jade because she's in the way back and she'd have to climb over everyone. Rather than wait, Jade climbs over Andre and trips over his ridiculously large feet and unfortunately falls right into Beck's arms.

"Careful there, klutz," Beck jokes with a cocky smirk. He holds onto Jade until she's steady and laughs when she tries to play it off like nothing has happened.

Tori climbs out next after Andre whispers "ladies first" to Tori and Robbie. Robbie grumbles and sulks by the sign welcoming them to the beach while Tori pretends to be flattered. Andre gets out and nearly falls into Jade when Cat jumps on his back and squeezes his neck with all her might. It's almost like karma.

Sinjin appears out of nowhere and puts his hand out to stop Beck and Jade from going anywhere else. The rest of the cast turn around and stare in confusion. It's been under 24 hours since Sikowitz sprung his little erroneous plan on Beck and Jade. Jade doesn't really plan on telling anyone about this because she thinks it's nobody's business, but Beck's a different story. He's probably already told Robbie and Andre. She's almost positive he has because Robbie continues to sulk and Jade guarantees that he's cried because Sikowitz hasn't made him date Cat for publicity.

"Run along," Sinjin says to everyone but Beck and Jade. He waves his right hand dismissively and stomps his foot when no one moves. "Go!"

Jade pinches the bridge of her nose and glares at her cast mates. They scatter like a bunch of skittish kittens and Andre almost drops Cat in fright. Cat just giggles and slides down to her feet, skipping behind Robbie and swinging Mr. Purple from side to side.

"I need to take a photo of you two looking cozy," Sinjin says to Beck and Jade slowly. He stares at Jade lustfully. "If you're uncomfortable posing with Beck I can stand in his place and just photoshop his head on my body."

"Get away from me," Jade barks fiercely. A satisfied grin spreads across her face when Sinjin takes a few steps back. "It's too early for this."

"Yeah," Beck agrees, smoothing his hair back like he's trying to impress Jade or something. "At least wait until Jade's been in hair and make up for three hours."

"How long did it take to straighten your hair this morning?" Jade counters. She knows she's won when Beck self-consciously places a hand atop his head and frowns.

"Sikowitz wants a tweeted photo NOW," Sinjin says in his creepy little voice. He pulls Jade by the sign about picking up after your dog and tells her to stay put. Beck follows willingly because he doesn't want Sinjin touching his brand new leather jacket and stands next to Jade awkwardly. "Just pretend I'm taking a candid photo."

"Oh, how romantic," Jade says sarcastically. She points to the sign and makes Beck stand under it because she knows how the hardcore fans of the show work. They'll no doubt zoom in on the photo and make some bizarre joke out of it and spam her Twitter account until she reluctantly responds to one of them with a curt "haha" and nothing else.

"Look casual," Sinjin instructs in a very Zen like voice.

Jade clenches and unclenches her fists by her side and turns her back. Beck does the same and she rolls her eyes as he puts an arm around her shoulders. They're idiotically gazing at a sign about cleaning up dog feces and she doesn't understand how this is going to make people think they're more than just "friends." Once Jade hears the click from Sinjin's phone, she steps away from Beck and groans at the sun as it rises and assaults her with bright light.

"I'm tweeting this to my 3,000 followers," Sinjin says proudly. "Cat included me in her Follow Friday list yesterday and I got like…2,000 followers."

Jade doesn't follow Sinjin on Twitter so she doesn't really care. Beck nods slowly as if Sinjin's admitted some weird sexual fantasy and feels his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He regrettably follows Sinjin on Twitter and debates daily on unfollowing him because all Sinjin tweets about are birdseed and moss. Beck looks at his phone and inaudibly sighs.

**Twitter  
Mentioned by Van_Cleef: Admiring BeckOliver and JadeW from afar. They don't know I'm taking their picture. #sneaky**

"Really?" Beck asks Sinjin in disbelief. He opens the picture and shakes his head at it. It's totally out of focus and he and Jade look like mutant shadows.

Sinjin shrugs innocently. "You should respond to it."

"Why?"

"It will look like we're friends."

Beck backs away and holds both hands up. "I should get going…"

He catches up to Jade, who's stomping on abandoned sandcastles like she's Godzilla. They fall into step with one another and languidly make their way to the rest of the cast silently. Jade doesn't really have anything to say to Beck and prays he doesn't bring up their little PR stunt. It's not supposed to start until next week so the longer she can put it off, the better. She fixes her gaze towards the cool sand and crunches pretty seashells under her combat boots. It makes her feel powerful and excites her greatly.

"You know Sinjin's taking stalker photos of you, right?" Tori informs the two once they finally make to the area where they're shooting. She holds up her phone and practically shoves it in Jade's face.

Cat stands on her tiptoes and uses Jade's arm to balance herself so she can see the photo. She tilts her head to the side in confusion. "You guys look like shadows! Sinjin's not very good at taking pictures." Then, her eyes widen and she steps down, fumbling for her phone in her obnoxiously large purse. "I'll Instagram and it make it super duper pretty!"

Jade scowls and leaves Cat to her own devices. Beck stares at the half dozen racks of clothes and stares at Jade intently. Judging by the location, he assumes they'll be prancing around in bathing suits all day. Not that he's complaining because Jade and Tori will probably be wearing next to nothing so it's not like he'll be suffering all day working on a Saturday. Jade curls her lip in annoyance and wishes somebody had informed her they'd be doing a bikini shoot because she wouldn't have binged on cookies and French fries last night.

"Bet you're regretting all of those cookies you ate last night, huh?" Beck teases Jade, as if he can read her mind. He pats Jade's stomach and bites back a few curse words when she digs her sharp nails into his wrists.

A grumpy wardrobe woman saves Beck from a verbal lashing and whisks Jade and the other two girls away in one swift motion. After nearly two and a half hours of fittings and hair and makeup, they're ready to start shooting. It's a little after nine and a bunch of people have gathered around to gawk and take blurry photos to post online. Beck smirks as the girls call out his name like a pack of wild hyenas while Robbie desperately tries to steal some of the attention by pretending to do pushups in the sand. He's only able to do about three before falling flat on his face.

Cat titters behind Jade and grabs the older girl's wrist, tugging on it gently so Jade will turn around. She hides behind her with a pout and makes sure no one can see her skimpy bathing suit.

"I don't want to wear this, Jadey," Cat whispers childishly, her big brown eyes welling up with tears once she locks eyes with Jade. Next to Tori and Jade, Cat feels pubescent. They've forced her into a black bandeau bikini that leaves little to the imagination. Her brother, who's supposed to be watching her, has stupidly buried himself in the sand so he's completely useless.

Jade looks down at Cat and smiles at her, giving her a reassuring pat on the head. She immediately feels protective and glares at the sleazy photographer and his attempt to sexualize her little Cat Valentine. She motions for Tori to come over to shield Cat from the frat boys cat calling her from behind the non-threatening barriers the police have put up to stop people from rushing the set.

"Hey, wardrobe lady," Jade yells at the unpleasant plump woman, snapping her fingers when she doesn't respond. "Either give Cat a cover up or put her in a more appropriate bikini."

"You don't call the shots, honey," the woman responds hotly, placing her hands on her hips in attempt to show some sort of authority over Jade. "That's the outfit Terry chose. If she has a problem, she can tell me herself."

"She's just a kid," Jade continues angrily.

"And what are you?"

Jade stands taller and holds herself back from inflicting harm on this woman who's already gotten on her bad side. "An adult. We're all legal here except for Cat. If you don't put her in another bathing suit, I'll refuse to do this shoot and ruin your whole day."

Beck can't help but smile as he eavesdrops on their conversation. He wonders how Jade can come off as so incredibly heartless when it comes to him, but when it comes to Cat she's got the biggest heart in the world and will do anything and everything to protect Cat from harm. Jade just shrugs every time she's confronted with her obvious affection for Cat Valentine and amounts it to Cat being a kid. He often ponders why Jade's so emotionally detached and wants to know who or what has made her so closed off and well, a gank. She has her moments where she's a decent and loving human being, but most of the time she looks permanently irritated that it makes him want to be a complete asshole to her because he knows that's her weakness. Jade loves bad boys who treat her like complete crap but will never leave because she needs to feel wanted.

He remembers her last boyfriend so vividly; Ryder Daniels, a sleazy actor who drove a motorcycle despite having a suspended license and two DUI's under his belt. Ryder was four years older than Jade and a danger to her career. She nearly lost her job because Sikowitz didn't want Ryder's bad publicity to pollute the show and discourage viewers from tuning in. But because she was Jade, she didn't listen and continued to see Ryder in secret. That was until they were caught half-naked in the back of a taxicab and Jade had to issue some public apology because she was clearly intoxicated and only seventeen at the time.

Jade apologized against her will and refused to show up to work for three days.

"What are you looking at?" Jade looks at Beck smugly. She gestures to her bikini clad body and makes an effort to stick out her breasts some more. "Like what you see?"

Beck shrugs and gets dangerously close to Jade, letting his hands rest on her bare hips. He strokes the skin with his thumbs. "I've seen better."

Jade scowls as Beck walks away in satisfaction.

* * *

It takes Cat nearly an hour to finally choose a bathing suit that she feels comfortable in. When she finally reappears out of the wardrobe tent, she quickly prances out like some Disney character and joins the rest of the cast in the water. Jade is of course, stuck next to Beck and he keeps tapping her on the shoulder and telling her there's dolphins near them. Tori laughs into her hands but immediately stops when Jade bumps her into Robbie, who has the coordination of a toddler, and knocks him down.

"Ms. West!" The photographer hisses. "You're messing up my shot!"

"Oops," Jade says sarcastically. She holds Cat still in front of her when she starts to kick her feet in the water and splash like an annoying sea creature. "Stop," she whispers into the redhead's hair, squeezing her shoulder a bit so Cat gets the point. Cat pouts and sighs dramatically but complies.

"Look, Jade," Beck says with his crooked grin, pointing behind them. "The dolphins are coming to say hello!"

Jade's honestly not even sorry when she knees him in the balls.

They have to take a fifteen-minute break so Beck can recover. Cat takes this as an opportunity to do her Ariel bit and run around in the water. Jade rolls her eyes and sinks happily into a chair. She waves innocently at Beck, who's _still_ keeled over and almost blue in the face.

"I think you killed him, girl," Andre says. He doesn't know whether to laugh or cry in concern because Beck looks like he's in a lot of pain.

Jade dismisses Andre's claim and sips her water. "He'll live."

After a few more minutes, Beck stands up and puts his hand up in the air to signal he's okay like he's some sort of martyr or wounded solider.

They do a few more cliché beach photo shoots; playing volleyball, splashing each other in the ocean (Jade refuses to do this one), and sitting by a "fire." Except, poor Cat doesn't understand why there's no fire. They're huddled around a ring of rocks that the photographer says he'll Photoshop a fire in later. Still, Cat doesn't understand and keeps questioning why they can't have an actual fire. She stops when Jade threatens to light a real fire and throw her in it.

Later, they split off into pairs and Jade and Beck find themselves holding melting popsicles. The photographer has Beck sit on a chair and then has Jade straddle him. She curses under her breath and pushes all of her weight down on Beck's lap. She grins when he groans and shifts her around a bit.

"Now, feed him the popsicle."

Andre whistles and Cat juts her bottom lip out because she wants a popsicle. Robbie rubs her back in concern but she moves away when his grubby hands are freezing cold.

Jade huffs but dangles the popsicle above Beck's mouth so little dribbles of red liquid are dropping into his mouth. She makes an effort to slowly grind on Beck because she can feel him getting hard underneath her.

"Stop," he hisses, letting his fingers dig into Jade's side.

"Excited?" Jade asks innocently, continuing as the photographer takes a bunch of shots from different angles and other things Jade's not really interested in.

Beck tries to play it off with a curt shake of his head, but Jade knows he's enjoying it. She can feel it. Beck's hands are dangerously low on her back (for the photo shoot, of course) and her legs and tangled with his. The photographer is yelling out for more, so Jade brushes her hands through Beck's hair and let's her lips hover over Beck's for at least ten seconds. She shifts around some more and by the pained expression on Beck's face, she knows he's fighting this with every ounce of power he has.

The photographer tells them they're done but Jade lingers, ignoring the obnoxious shouting from the unattractive fans. She knows all the teenagers are jealous that she's straddling Beck Oliver. She knows they'll all be jealous when they step out next week holding hands and sneaking kisses. Most of them will be supportive of their "relationship," but more will hate her. She'll get hateful Tweets and hurtful comments online. She'll probably get called ugly and undeserving of Beck's love. She'll get accused of just using him for fame, which is a complete and utter lie because in her opinion, she's more famous than Beck.

After Jade finally clambers off Beck with a satisfied smile, she looks down at Beck as he covers himself and glares up at her. Then, his eyes soften and he grabs at her hand, making it as subtle as possible.

"Meet me in the bathroom in ten minutes."

Jade balks. "What?"

"You heard what I said," Beck hisses lowly. He slowly stands up and makes a point to wave to the girls calling his name. They giggle into their hands and shake each other silly.

"Were you lobotomized yesterday?" Jade snaps back. "I told you this was over."

"This is far from over," Beck corrects confidently. He brushes the hair out of her eyes and stares intently, waiting for her to break. "You know it."

Ten minutes later, Jade finds herself outside the bathrooms. Not because she wants to be, but because Beck's right; this is far from over. It's only the beginning.


	3. The Calm Before The Storm

**I'm so sorry that it took forever for an update! I kind of lost inspiration but I think it's back now. I hope this chapter is okay-I wrote it all today and basically fought with it all afternoon. Thank you for all the reviews and follows, you guys are the best!**

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Jade admittedly feels like a stalker as she paces outside the entrance of Tori's luxurious apartment complex. Several of Tori's neighbors have already stopped to compliment her and ramble on about how they think it's sweet how close she and Tori are. She has to stop herself from scoffing several times at them. It's almost 1:30 and Tori _promised_ she'd be home from doing some ADA work by one.

It's nearly two o'clock when Tori's black Mercedes pulls into her assigned parking spot. Jade wastes no time and stomps over in her combat boots to give her co-star a verbal lashing for being so late. Jade hates to wait. Tori looks a little nervous when she gets out of the car and keeps a safe distance from Jade.

"Vega!" Jade hisses, throwing her hands in the air. "Where have you been?"

"I told you I'd be home soon," Tori responded slowly, a little frightened that Jade was going to reach over and choke her or something to that extreme. She motions for Jade to follow her inside. "What's wrong with you?"

Jade wrings her hands and waits until they're safe inside Tori's apartment. She rolls her eyes when Tori's oversized dog Monkey jumps on her. "Vega! Get this thing off me!" She's struggling to stand up straight as the Boxer's wet tongue licks every inch of her face.

Tori chuckles and grabs Monkey's collar and shoos him onto the balcony. She sits down next to Jade on the couch and stares at her in concern. "Why are you so pale, Jade? You don't need a kidney…do you?

"No, Vega, I don't need a kidney!" Jade hisses in annoyance. God this girl was as dumb as Cat sometimes. "I assume you heard about Beck and I."

"Maybe," Tori shrugs innocently. "I might have heard rumblings from Sinjin."

"Whatever," Jade sighs. "Sikowitz is making Beck and I date for publicity."

Tori nods slowly before breaking into laughter. "Oh my god, I bet the fans will call you guys Bade!"

"Shut up, Vega!" Jade practically whines. "This isn't funny!"

"Okay, okay," Tori clears her throat, taking a minute or two to compose herself. She looks at Jade sympathetically when she sees the girl is actually really freaked out about this whole thing. "It's probably only for a few months…"

Tori studies Jade and deems it safe enough to reach over and squeeze her hand. Jade doesn't pull away. It's very rare to see Jade so vulnerable and it takes Tori back to the day where Sikowitz lashed out at her and threatened to fire her if she didn't stop fooling around with Ryder Daniels. She vividly remembers Jade banging on her trailer door and bursting into tears once she got inside. Tori knows Jade's not as strong as she appears to be and it makes her feel kind of special that she's become privy to Jade's softer side.

"What are you afraid of?"

Jade swallows past the lump in her throat and shakes her head. "I don't know. I just think it's all stupid."

"I think you're afraid of actually falling for him," Tori whispers carefully. She knows how defensive Jade can get so it's no surprise when Jade's head snaps up and she's glaring harshly at her.

"Not a chance."

"Aw, come on, Jade!" Tori nudges Jade's shoulder playfully. "I've seen the way you two look at one another. I know deep down you don't hate him as much as you say you do." She sighs and quickly apologizes when Jade still looks murderous. "Sorry. It's just my own stupid opinion."

"Yeah, well your opinion means nothing to me," Jade scoffs in irritation. She knows Tori doesn't mean any harm but sometimes she's so preachy that it drives Jade up a wall.

Tori doesn't take offense to Jade's statement. "When does it all start?"

"Tomorrow," Jade mumbles while picking at her nails. Her black nail polish is chipping away and she makes a note to treat herself to a manicure later to take her mind off of things. Either that or she can just bully Cat into it. "I think."

"I think you'll be fine, Jade," Tori reassures her co-star softly. She throws her arms around Jade and forces her into a hug. "Come on! Give Tori a squeeze!"

"Vega, your chest is smothering me!" Jade complains, trying to push Tori away from her. It's damn near impossible since Tori is freakishly strong for someone who's as skinny as a pole. "You know how I feel about personal space."

"Come on," Tori says, pulling Jade up with her. "Let's go get some sushi."

Jade rolls her eyes but follows Tori out the door after she lets her annoying dog back in the apartment. "Fine," she sighs." I don't want to come, but I will."

* * *

It's no secret that Beck has a soft spot for Cat Valentine. No matter how busy his schedule is, he always makes time every week to take her to the Freezy Queen in Calabasas. It's not as crowded as the one in Hollywood since those pesky Kardashians skipped town. He knows Cat doesn't like all the attention and since they go there so much, most of the employees leave them be and just smile politely at him. They shower them with an abundance of ice cream and most of the time Cat goes home with brain freeze and a really bad stomach ache.

Cat orders her usual and skips to the two-person table nestled in the corner of the shop. It's far away from the door and the table is blocked by the counter so the paparazzi can't really take stalker shots through the window. Cat, of course, tweets she's on a "date" with Beck but doesn't reveal the location. She's learned her lesson from the last time she tweeted she was at the mall with Beck and they got accosted by thousands of fans. Jade blamed Beck for Cat's panic attack and spent days ignoring him until he had to grovel for her forgiveness.

"Here you go, milady," Beck jokes while sliding Cat's ice cream sundae towards her. She squeals in excitement and doesn't waste anytime diving in. "Don't eat so fast, Cat. You'll get brain freeze."

"You say that every week!" Cat complains through spoonfuls of ice cream.

"Yet every week you cry all the way home because your 'brain is frozen!'" Beck mocks in his best Cat-like voice.

The little redhead doesn't look too amused but grins anyway. "You didn't sound a thing like me, Beck!"

Beck just chuckles and pokes at his plain old chocolate ice cream with a sigh. He's not sure if Cat knows about him and Jade yet. Cat often feels left out since she's the youngest so Beck makes an extra effort to include her and make sure she's clued in on everything happening on set.

"So," he begins after they fall into a comfortable silence.

"So," Cat repeats, swinging her little legs back and forth under the table. She bites at her bottom lip and peers up at Beck shyly. "Beck? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I heard Robbie and Andre talking about you and Jade yesterday."

Beck nods slowly. So Cat does know. "I was going to tell you."

"How come you and Jade have to date for ratings?"

"I don't know," Beck admits honestly. He stares at Cat and feels a surge of regret creeping up at how sad she looks. "Sometimes the network doesn't have a choice. They'll do whatever it takes to make the ratings go up."

"Well I think it's silly," Cat grumbles, knitting her eyebrows together in confusion because she'll never get it. "You have to be nice to Jade, okay? Please?"

Beck smiles and runs a hand through his hair. "Are you going to tell her to be nice to me then?"

"No," Cat giggles, shaking her red hair all around her face. "Jade needs a nice boy to treat her right." Her lips slip into a pout and Beck knows she's going to start talking about Ryder. "I know she likes bad boys like that meanie Ryder, but you need to be nice to her, Beck! I want Jadey to be happy."

"Cat, you understand that I'm not really going to be Jade's boyfriend, right?" Beck bites back his sigh while Cat's wide eyes fill with tears. "We're not really going to be dating. It's just all for publicity."

"But, but," Cat sniffles, taking several deep breaths. "I bet if you treat Jade nicely she'll want you to be her boyfriend like you are on the show!"

"Cat, ssh," Beck coos, reaching across the table to squeeze Cat's hands. "Come on, kiddo. Don't do this here."

Cat whimpers but manages to compose herself when other patrons begin to stare and then whip out their phones. She sighs and pushes her ice cream away with a rather childish pout. "Can, can you just take me home?"

"Cat-"

"Please, Beck," Cat whispers pleadingly. "My daddy is making me audition for a part in the new Alyssa Vaughn movie and I have to go over my lines."

"Cat, that's great," Beck smiles encouragingly.

"No," Cat corrects him. "I don't wanna! I don't like her. She was mean to me once last year when I went to her movie premiere with Tori."

"I'm sure you'll do great," Beck says, ruffling Cat's hair while they make their way to the car. He helps Cat in and drives to her house in silence. Cat looks exhausted and he often wonders what goes on with her at home. "Alright, ma'am. I think this is your stop."

Cat giggles tiredly and holds the door handle tightly. "Please don't hurt her, Beck."

Beck doesn't respond. He just nods at Cat and makes sure she gets inside okay.

Then, he drives to Jade's without any hesitation.

* * *

Jade aimlessly scrolls through her Twitter feed and makes an effort to reply to Cat's tweet about being on a "date" with Beck. Within a minute, her tweet already has over 200 likes and 300 retweets. She often wonders if fans of the show have any semblance of a life. She doesn't bother to check her mentions because they'll annoy her.

She closes her laptop and pops in her favorite movie with a content sigh. She's seen The Scissoring so many times that she can repeat it in her sleep. Despite watching it over thirty times, she scowls when there's a knock on her door, forcing her to pause it just as Tawny Walker-Black is about to ram a pair of her favorite scissors into her best friend's throat.

Jade's none too pleased when she swings the door open to reveal Beck standing in her hallway awkwardly. "I'm not in the mood for a booty call."

"I was dropping Cat off and I figured I'd come and uh, say hi," Beck says, almost shyly. He stuffs his hands in his jean pockets and stares at Jade. "So, hi."

"Yeah, hi," Jade says dryly. She hesitates at first, but then steps aside and gestures for Beck to come in. He makes himself at him and props his feet up on the coffee table when he settles on the couch. "Feet off."

Beck chuckles and stares at the TV. "Really, Jade? How many times have you seen this movie?"

"Forty five times," Jade grins rather proudly. "What do you want?"

"Like I said, I was dropping Cat off and wanted to come say hi."

"How was your date?"

"Why?" Beck raises an amused eyebrow. "Are you jealous?"

"Oh, yeah. So jealous," Jade deadpans, blowing the hair that escaped her ponytail out of her face.

Beck takes a minute to study Jade and can't help but notice how beautiful she really is. She has no make up on and her hair is lazily thrown back into a messy ponytail. There's a big hole in the knee of her leggings but Beck finds it endearing. Deep down, she's just a regular teenage girl. He also notices how her tight tank top and rising up and down her stomach each time she breathes so he's not really complaining about her choice of attire right now.

"So about tomorrow," Jade starts out softly. She stares at Beck and waits until he's focused on her to continue. "Where, where do you think we should go?"

"We could just go to The Grove," Beck suggests with a shrug. "Look, let's just make this as painless as possible."

"I agree."

"Can you be civil with me?"

Jade sighs and pokes her knee to stall. "Jade?" Beck presses on, reaching out to touch her knee. "Jade, come on."

"Yeah, whatever," Jade finally responds. She looks back up at Beck seriously. "If you promise to be civil to me."

"I can do that," Beck laughs with a wink. "Is it going to be that horrible for you?"

"Well at least you're not ugly to look at," Jade teases, winking back. "But no," she continues softly. "It not going to be that horrible."

"Good," Beck grins, ruffling Jade's hair and poking her stomach. "I say we just go to The Grove before work tomorrow, make out in front of where they shoot Extra, and get the hell out of there."

"I hate The Grove," Jade complains. "It's just a bunch of annoying teenagers and equally annoying tourists."

"But it has the most paparazzi besides the airport," Beck points out matter-0f-factly. He traces the hole in Jade's leggings and peers up at her. "I promised Cat I wouldn't hurt you so you're gonna have to work with me here."

Jade pulls away like she's been burned. "Excuse me?"

"Cat, Cat was worried-"

"Why are you talking to Cat about this?" Jade snaps, standing up to her feet in annoyance. Just when she thinks Beck is actually a decent guy he has to go and screw it all up. "I don' t want her involved in this!"

"She already knew about it, Jade. She heard Robbie and Andre talking about it."

"I don't want everyone knowing!" Jade shrieks, pinching the bridge of her nose. She backs away when Beck starts to approach her. "Just go, Beck."

"No, Jade," Beck says defiantly. "Not until you tell me why you're so freaked out about this whole thing."

"I'm not freaked out," Jade corrects him harshly. "I just think it's all ridiculous and you do too."

"It's just publicity, Jade," Beck sighs. He tilts Jade's chin up when she sighs as well and stares down at the ground. "We just have to take this one day at a time."

Jade rubs her tired eyes and shrugs in agreement. "Fine. Pick me up tomorrow before work and we can make out at The Grove. After, you're taking me to Jet Brew and buying me an extra, extra large coffee, got it?"

"Do they even make extra, extra large coffees at Jet Brew?" Beck jokes, laughing when Jade slaps his chest in mock annoyance. "It's a deal."

"Yeah, yeah," Jade mumbles. She sits back down on the couch. "Can you handle The Scissoring?"

"I've seen it before," Beck says proudly. "It's awful."

"That's what makes it so great!" Jade beams, hitting the play button and patting the spot next to her. Her breath hitches in her throat as Beck joins her and she catches a whiff of his cologne. "I didn't know you've seen it."

"Yeah, it was on TV one day. I was bored," Beck says. "I remember you saying it was your favorite movie on the first day of rehearsal and when I went home that night, it was on. I wanted to watch it because you seemed to hate everything so I had to see the what the one thing you actually liked was about."

Jade tries not to smile and covers it up with a cough instead. "And?"

"I thought you were pretty screwed up."

"Shut up," Jade says with an eye roll, whacking Beck with a pillow. "What do you think about me now?"

"Oh, I still think you're pretty screwed up," Beck grins, wincing when one of the characters gets decapitated and their head rolls down the stairs. "But I also think you're pretty cool."

"Cool?" Jade raises her eyebrows. "What are we in 7th grade?"

"Ssh," Beck shushes Jade playfully. "I can't hear the movie."

Jade finally releases a smile and can't help but glance at Beck every so often during the movie. He looks so enthralled with it and it _kind_ of makes her heart flutter that he first watched the movie because of her.

She revels in the comfort and scoots closer to Beck, leaning her head on his shoulder and allowing him to sling his arm around her waist. She sighs contently as he traces small circles all around her stomach. Normally it would lead to something further, but not tonight. It's the calm before the storm and they both need to stay sane before it all erupts.


End file.
